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Post by lugg on Jun 17, 2021 20:09:26 GMT
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Post by fumobici on Jun 17, 2021 21:03:35 GMT
Lovely report and moving artwork. I remember being shocked at the number of knife crimes that occur in the UK and how many people are killed each year. It's a good thing they don't have virtually unregulated firearms like we do in the US, based on those numbers it'd be just like here and perhaps even worse if that were the case. |
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Post by htmb on Jun 17, 2021 21:54:20 GMT
Incredible piece of art. I imagine it makes quite an impact just through sheer size, as well as the meaning behind the knife pieces placed together to form the angel.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 18, 2021 0:07:47 GMT
unregulated firearms like we do in the US Years ago I saw a movie on tv with Oliver Reed. He was a convict & was planning a breakout with another convict. Reed comments that it would be good if they could get a gun. The other convict recoils in shock, saying, "Are you crazy? This isn't America! Lugg, this is outstanding! Your photographs are so dramatically good -- love the angles & the way you got the colors reflecting and glinting off the knives. The fifth one down (backlit closeup of the head) is a particular knockout, as is number seven, with its wonderful composition, but they're all wonderful. The cathedral and its gardens are beautiful. I love the herbs growing right out of the white gravel. Would it be frivolous to suggest that the cathedral -- which is the seat of the bishop -- acquire The Iron Throne to go with The Knife Angel? |
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 18, 2021 4:59:01 GMT
We need a knife angel in France, too, because nearly all of the recent teenage deaths have been because of knives, woncerning children from ages 14 to 18. In a way, it could be considered good (?) news because it means that most people don't have access to guns, but kitchen knives used as weapons have become all too common here. It is not impossible that movies and TV have contributed to their unfortunate popularity, because it seems to me that knifing scenes have become more and more common. Whenever the camera pans across the kitchen counter and you see a knife rack or block, you know what's going to happen sooner or later. It is also alarming that more and more knives are being made out of plastic or other non-metallic substances and can get through electronic screening in many cases.
Anyway, your photos are excellent, lugg, although the sheer number of knives required to make the statue is pretty scary. I can imagine kids trying to pry off a knife in the middle of the night. (Kids can be so stupid sometimes!)
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Post by bjd on Jun 18, 2021 6:59:33 GMT
Great pictures, Lugg,as always. The cloister is beautiful.
And as Kerouac says, reports of teenagers stabbing each other are becoming common in France. Better than guns, but still deadly.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 18, 2021 10:47:48 GMT
The photography is outstanding of course, but the subject of your lens is equally as jaw-dropping. Something as enormous as this does not happen overnight and must have taken many months if not years in the planning.
A great piece of art. I can see several of my kitchen knives embedded in the angels wings. Mine are very shiny of course and are going nowhere except in my kitchen.
Congratulations Lugg on a great set of pics for us to enjoy as well. Thanks!
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Post by lugg on Jun 18, 2021 20:17:20 GMT
Thank you all for your kind comments on my pics, but there are so many great ones out there in the media to view.
One thing the Angel promotes is ... Knife crime affects many of us either personally or within our communities . I never thought that was true in my part of the woods, but two things this week have made me realise otherwise. One was a post from a local photographer that I follow - he had gone to photograph the Angel at night - set up his camera but had to wait for a man to move. He realised the man was sobbing so stopped setting up and went to talk to him instead; he learnt that his brother had been killed in a stabbing locally. Then a few days ago I read some social media reports about a young girl and her friend who came across a group of other youngsters in a field near to a rural village - she was attacked with stones and threatened with a knife. These were pre - teens.
One of the other things I have thought about, which kind of links in with the gun debate,in France and other European countries I have been shocked by the fact that knives are freely sold at markets and that there are often knife grinders there to sharpen these too. In the UK selling of knives is very restricted ..... BUT if you look at the knives most of them could come out of any kitchen drawer anywhere in the world.
So ...
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 18, 2021 20:35:14 GMT
Good grief. Those two stories really make the reason for the Angel come home. Re: home ~ probably most extreme domestic violence involves something from the kitchen.  |
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 19, 2021 5:07:11 GMT
Switchblades are totally forbidden in France, but anybody can buy a kitchen knife. I don't know if there are any restrictions on hunting knives, but you have to get them from a special shop anyway.
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Post by lugg on Jun 19, 2021 20:10:53 GMT
Really the cathedral deserves more than a post card but as I’ve started, I will carry on and show you a little bit more. Visits are limited due to Covid so some areas are off limits and there is a one way, social distanced system in place for the open areas . You will probably see some of the distancing arrows in the following photos. As this is a post card I am not going to supply lots of info but for those who want to know more …here is the cathedral’s website and the wiki link. www.herefordcathedral.org/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hereford_Cathedral….and a potted history of what, I think ,is a very special place There has been a place of worship on the cathedral site since at least the 8th century, although no part of any building earlier than the 11th-century bishop’s chapel survives.The medieval cathedral was not monastic; the governing body, known as the Dean and Chapter, were not monks but secular priests who led active lives in the world. They employed the Vicars Choral, a body of clergy who lived a collegiate life in the Vicars’ Cloister, to sing the daily services for them. The following chronology reflects significant dates in the development of the building and its community.
696 The traditional date for the founding of Hereford Cathedral.
794 Ethelbert, the young King of the East Angles, comes from eastern England to ask for the hand in marriage of the daughter of King Offa of Mercia (western England). Ethelbert is murdered by order of the King or of his Queen; his remains are interred in Hereford Cathedral, and after his acclamation as a saint, the cathedral is dedicated to him jointly with the Blessed Virgin Mary.King Offa is famous for building the ditch (‘Offa’s Dyke’) to divide England from Wales, which can still be seen in places. Legend has it that he founded several religious houses as penance for the murder of Ethelbert.
1020–40 Athelstan, 25th Bishop of Hereford 1015–56, rebuilds the Saxon cathedral at Hereford.
1055 A rebel Welsh army destroys Athelstan’s cathedral; Ethelbert’s shrine and many other treasures are lost. An 8th-century illuminated Gospel Book, the Hereford Gospels, is the only artefact still at the cathedral to have survived this disaster, and is one of the most precious spiritual treasures of the diocese.
1107–48 The cathedral is rebuilt in Norman or Romanesque style. This is the earliest type of architecture still visible in the cathedral today.
1190s Hereford Cathedral has become an important national centre of learning and scholarship. It is believed that a school already existed at this time, making our cathedral school one of the oldest in the country.
1200–20 During this time, it is likely that Bishop Giles de Braose commissioned Hereford’s beautiful Limoges enamel reliquary to contain a relic of the murdered archbishop, St Thomas Becket. It was lost during the Reformation, but returned to the cathedral in the early 19th century.
c 1300 Mappa Mundi, the only complete world map of its kind to have survived, is made by Richard of Holdingham. As well as a map, it is a fascinating pictorial encyclopaedia of the medieval world. It may have been made for Hereford Cathedral and has certainly been there for most of its life. It is now one of the cathedral’s greatest treasures and a tourist attraction of international importance. In 2007 it became the United Kingdom’s second entry on the UNESCO’s Memory of the World register – a status for documents and collections similar to that of a World Heritage Site.
1320 Thomas Cantilupe, 45th Bishop of Hereford, who had died in 1282, is declared a saint by the Pope, and the cathedral is beautified and the the north transept is extended to receive pilgrims to his shrine, which survived the Reformation and has been recently restored. The central tower is heightened and decorated with the ‘ballflower’ ornament for which Hereford is famous.
1349 St Thomas’s bones are transferred to a new shrine in the Lady Chapel (at the east end of the cathedral) in the presence of King Edward III.
1538 Protestant Reformation under King Henry VIII: Saint Thomas’s shrine in the Lady Chapel is destroyed and all its treasures removed
1611 The Chained Library, the world’s largest surviving example, which is still in the cathedral, is created.
1642–49 The English Civil War between King Charles I and Parliament. Hereford is eventually captured by Parliamentary forces after a long siege. Dean Herbert Croft preaches against the desecration of the cathedral by the Parliamentary soldiers, who threaten to shoot him, but are prevented by their commander, Colonel Birch.
1786 The west tower of the cathedral collapses overnight on Easter Monday, 17 April.
1841–63 Major restorations of the cathedral.
1996 Queen Elizabeth II opens the award-winning new library building at Hereford Cathedral, partly funded by Sir Paul Getty (J Paul Getty Jr) to house the Mappa Mundi, the Chained Library, and the modern library and archives.
2014 Hereford’s Magna Carta and the associated King’s Writ (dated 1217 and issued from Runnymede) go on display in the Houston Museum of Natural Science in Texas, the first time either document has left the UK.
2015 Hereford Cathedral’s 1217 copy of the Magna Carta and the King’s Writ are taken on a world tour marking the 800th anniversary of the original issuing of Magna Carta in 1215.2021 … well you have seen it… the Knife Angel visits Of course there is so much more but I am going to show you just some of the highlights for me, albeit restricted ... only those areas I could visit during these Covid times. (The choir is spectacular but unfortunately off limits.) Anyway one of the things that are missing from the chronology above is the installation of the stained glass window to commemorate the SAS. It is no secret really that the SAS is based in Hereford …but the names of those who have served are, (generally,) so no names on this memorial From the outside … live.staticflickr.com/65535/51251325968_60d91edb8d_b.jpgand from inside , live.staticflickr.com/65535/51251130131_2c403e0a67_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51252210125_9c31a1762a_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51251359198_5e3224a76a_b.jpgI love to visit this chap – always want to reach out and touch the alabaster stone as, I suspect, so many must have done before me, live.staticflickr.com/65535/51250433682_2bcf7b27cf_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51251915784_728fb471ea_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51251915739_28b55ef672_b.jpgA little of his story – a Herefordshire village is named after him, live.staticflickr.com/65535/51251915644_27357b2e10_c.jpg and here it is ..the missing limb live.staticflickr.com/65535/51250433462_f0e620c869_b.jpgSome general views of the ceilings and walls , decoration and light fittings etc etc , live.staticflickr.com/65535/51251915364_1d69a636ca_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51250432737_8e9243770f_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51251162711_69a4a1f1df_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51251357753_10dfbeb641_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51250432472_7074d7dcb6_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51250432387_445b8bc9b4_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51251358003_419f2efaf2_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51251913614_0657ce02fc_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51250399417_53da19176a_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51251162606_a076ec9d6f_b.jpgThe ceiling of the bell tower – open to climb on a few dates during the year in normal times, but not today live.staticflickr.com/65535/51252208885_d7d5ef3200_b.jpgLady Chapel looking glamorous as she was lit by the sun live.staticflickr.com/65535/51251913509_e2e14901f2_b.jpgThe crypt is Gothic , which I believe is fairly unusual but again not open today live.staticflickr.com/65535/51251913569_53366ff2b5_b.jpgNot one of my favourite areas … but it is an important part of the cathedral's history and he was sainted …so here is St. Thomas Cantilupe’s shrine. Relatively recently renovated . live.staticflickr.com/65535/51251914654_1b63894d8f_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51251129416_01d5145c79_b.jpgI am going to finish with my favourite place in the cathedral – a tiny room called the Stanbury Chapel – a Chantry Chapel in memory of one of the past clergy – John Stanbury . I am not particularly religious; almost, but not quite atheist I guess, but if ever I need a place to reflect and sit, this is it. Just looking at the medieval stained glass is food for my soul. Only one person allowed in at a time currently – I was lucky – no-one else knew how special this place is . Here are just a few pics, live.staticflickr.com/65535/51251129001_24e5c394a6_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51251161991_10fc565ce7_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51250431942_360be33788_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51251161686_974dc955e3_b.jpglive.staticflickr.com/65535/51251914284_b8c43276b2_b.jpgThis is the cathedral next to the Wye – despite the passing of many centuries- the view is pretty much the same today. Recently the old bridge (as it is known ) has been closed to traffic much to the consternation of some but personally I applaud that council's decision. live.staticflickr.com/65535/51252208070_ebb5113a37_b.jpgOk that’s it for now. I do plan to go back at night and will post some pics of the illuminated Knife Angel then . |
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 19, 2021 20:15:49 GMT
Ah, I find the inside much more interesting than the outside!
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Post by tod2 on Jun 20, 2021 10:48:42 GMT
Definitely wonderful interior! Needs several scrolls back and forth to see what the eye missed first time around. Just awesome Lugg.
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Post by lugg on Jun 21, 2021 18:55:30 GMT
Glad you liked the inside too both
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Post by htmb on Jun 21, 2021 19:05:25 GMT
You’ve done a fabulous job of capturing the interior details and colors, Lugg.
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Post by lugg on Jun 21, 2021 19:29:18 GMT
Thank you Htmb
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Post by whatagain on Jun 21, 2021 19:41:05 GMT
Thanks for this interesting photodocument.
I an in awe before the statue. I love this kind of art, that also serves a social goal.
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Post by lugg on Jun 22, 2021 19:41:02 GMT
I love this kind of art, that also serves a social goal. Thank you Whatagain - me too. |
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 23, 2021 4:09:15 GMT
You call it a very special place, Lugg, and the cathedral is certainly that! It truly has a different feel to it which you impart beautifully in your pictures. The loftiness and proportions, the magnificent ceiling of the main aisle, the Lady chapel, the incredible stonework throughout -- all wonderful. Of course you could says those things about any number of grand churches, but one word keeps occurring to me about Hereford Cathedral, a word that I never thought of in relation to any church before. That word is "sleek". There is something about all that upright dignity and all the verticals within that is special and different.
Thanks for showing the Knife Angel's landing spot for now. I'm really looking forward to your nighttime pictures.
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